Magi Legend

by Andrew Dobell

  “I’m sure it is, Arcadian.”

  “Amanda, my name is Amanda. Amanda-Jane Page. You need to remember that, it’s important,” she said, stepping up to Yasmin and grabbing her arm.

  “Get off me,” Yasmin said, pulling her arm back and pushing Amanda away.

  Amanda felt it before she saw it. The burst of Temporal energy and Magic was unmistakable. As she watched, Yasmin’s eyes flicked to something just behind Amanda as shock and fear filled her features.

  Yasmin staggered back and fell down onto her ass again as she looked from Amanda to the Weaver and back again.

  The entity floated forward, its hole-in-reality body distorting the air around it as it loomed over Yasmin.

  “Amanda speaks the truth, young Nomad. You would do well to listen and take heed of her words,” the Weaver said with its deep, strange voice.

  “Yeah… You’re… A Weaver?”

  “Oh, so you believe him?” Amanda quipped, shaking her head.

  Yasmin glanced at Amanda and then looked back at the powerful entity beside her, nodding.

  “Amanda’s younger-self must not die. If she dies, you die, do you understand?”

  Yasmin nodded, looking utterly dumbstruck.

  The Weaver remained for a moment longer before it faded from view, leaving the two women alone again.

  Amanda watched as Yasmin stared at the place where the Weaver had been, and then into the middle distance as the reality of the situation sank in. Eventually, she looked back at Amanda, her face neutral, her gaze steely and cold.

  With that one small change of expression, the Yasmin that Amanda had known—the cold, calculating Nomad she’d encountered so many times in her own timeline—appeared. This was the moment of her birth, right here, and Amanda had caused it.

  “So, we good?” Amanda asked.

  Yasmin said nothing. She just stared back at Amanda with that freaky look of hers.

  “Er, okay. Excellent. Glad we’re on the same page here,” Amanda said, feeling uncomfortable.

  Yasmin didn’t move, she just watched. So, Amanda walked over towards Eric and crouched down beside him, looking back over at Yasmin, who had shifted position, but was still staring at her.

  “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around,” Amanda added, but Yasmin said nothing. “Good chat,” Amanda commented and worked her Magic. Porting back to Eric’s house, they appeared in the main downstairs room.

  Standing up from beside Eric’s body, Amanda heard a voice.

  “Phoenix?”

  Amanda turned around in shock. “Yes,” she yelped without thinking, looking around to see two men standing in Eric’s home. “Whoa, who are…”

  She stepped back and flooded her Aegis with energy, only to suddenly recognise one of them and conclude that she probably wasn’t in any immediate danger.

  One of the pair was Israel Roth, the oldest modern-day member of the Legacy Coven. She didn’t recognise the other man, but they both smiled when she answered to Phoenix.

  “Israel?” Amanda asked in slight disbelief.

  The swarthy man nodded and smiled. “You know me. Good. Yes, I am Israel, and it is a pleasure to meet you. Aaron and I represent the Legacy Coven. We are here because our founder foretold of your arrival and formed the Legacy to await you. The coven is yours.”

  “Excuse me?” Amanda replied, feeling shocked and somewhat bemused by this turn of events. Having two familiar faces show up on the same day was kind of strange.

  Israel smiled. “I’m sorry. It’s a lot to take in, I’m sure.”

  “You’re not kidding.”

  “You seem to know who I am though, and given that I’m reasonably sure we have not met before, I would like to know how that’s possible?”

  “Well, that is something of a long and crazy story,” Amanda smiled. “But first, how did you find me?”

  “We have been watching you for a little while now and were watching the confrontation just moments ago.”

  “You were watching that?” How…? I didn’t see you.”

  “We have become quite adept at remaining hidden and observing from a distance when we need to. The appearance of the Weaver confirmed our suspicions. You are the one who Helene spoke of.”

  “Helene?”

  “Our founder, the wife of Simon Gita.”

  “And she told you about me?”

  “She did indeed, and it’s a relief to finally find you.”

  “Is Helene not with you?”

  “Ah, no, she disappeared around a thousand years ago, not long after Simon’s death at the hands of Simon Peter.”

  “Simon Peter? You mean, the Simon Peter? The Rock of Christ, Simon Peter?”

  “That is correct, yes.”

  “This day just keeps getting better,” Amanda said, looking down at the eviscerated body of Eric. The idea of her arrival being foretold didn’t surprise her as much as she thought it might when she’d first heard it. But then, she’d been living with the idea that she was the subject of a Prophecy for a while already. In fact, now that she thought of it, wasn’t that other Prophecy, the one that Trevelyan had shown her at Ultima Thule, written by Helene? Who was Helene and what was their connection? she wondered. “Look, we clearly need to talk about this, but I kind of need to deal with this,” she said, waving her hand towards the corpse at her feet.

  “Of course. Please, continue. We’ll wait.”

  ***

  “I’m already aware of one of Helene’s Prophecies which speaks of the arrival of someone who would fight against the Archons, and many believe that Prophecy is talking about me,” Amanda explained.

  “That’s right, but there were two Prophecies made by Helene. The public one that you know of, and another, made only to members of the Legacy, which told us how to find you.”

  “And, who is this Helene?” Amanda asked, sitting back in her chair. They had given Eric a burial behind the house on a nearby hill before returning inside to sit and talk. Aaron and Israel sat close by in front of the fire, with Israel doing most of the talking.

  “We’re not sure,” Israel said. “Simon Gita married her after coming into his power as a Magus and was astounded by her prophetic ability. He took her to the Magi Senate in Rome where she first publicly recited her most famous Prophecy, the one you just mentioned. That’s where I first saw her and saw something…different about her. She was not a typical Magus, that’s for sure. Not long after that, Peter attacked Simon Gita and killed him. Helene set up the Legacy in his memory and gave us her prediction about your arrival this year.”

  “So, what was this prediction?”

  “She said, ‘You will find her near the city of the Parisii tribe, a thousand years from now. She will have hair like fire and eyes like emeralds, she will save the life of a Nomad, she will speak with Weavers, and she will be known as the Phoenix.”

  “Okay, that does indeed sound like me,” Amanda conceded.

  “So, will you join us? Lead us?”

  Amanda smiled and thought about it. The truth was, she really didn’t want to lead the Legacy Coven, not right now, at least. Besides, she needed to keep a low profile. She looked up at these two men. They had waited for her, keeping their secret from the world of the Magi for a thousand years. If anyone could be trusted with the truth of what she was doing here, it was these guys. Plus, she knew Israel Roth from visiting the Legacy in the modern-day.

  “Look, it’s not that easy. I have to keep a low profile and not get too involved in the Magi community.”

  “Why?” Aaron asked.

  “Well, it’s something of a crazy story, but I’m not from this time. I was brought back in time from the early twenty-first century by a Weaver to the year 750AD and left there. I believe the Weaver wishes me to live through to the modern-day, but that comes with some problems when my younger-self first becomes a Magus. I can’t gain too many enemies who would be too powerful for the younger version of me to fight against. Otherwise, I’ll die and this will never happen.”


  Israel and Aaron shared a look and thought about their response. Israel looked into the middle distance. “It’s certainly a little hard to believe, but I’ve seen you talk with a Weaver, and I’ve witnessed the fruition of a thousand-year-old Prophecy today.” Looking up at her, he gazed deep into her eyes. “I believe you, and I fully understand why you cannot lead the coven.”

  “Thank you,” Amanda said. “I’m happy to be a member, but I need to keep to myself and not get too involved. It will be nice to know there are people out there who can help me though, should I need it.”

  “Always,” Israel said.

  1132 AD – France

  “Jaques?” Claude called out as he approached the house. He could see some light coming through the shutters, but all was quiet in there now. Had he imagined the screams? Was he losing his mind? No, he was sure he’d heard those terrified, blood-curdling cries. His heart was pounding as he stepped up to the front door and knocked. “Jaques? Are you in there? Arlette? I heard screaming,” he said, pushing the door. It opened easily. Claude stepped inside, his confidence and concern growing.

  The scene before him made his stomach flip. Blood and stringy viscera were everywhere. Mangled, unrecognisable bodies that might have been Jaques, Arlette, and their children, had been strung up to the rafters by rope, their entrails hanging from the gaping wounds in their torsos. Beneath them, their blood had been used to paint runes and symbols on the floor.

  As he stood there, his mind reeling from the shock, he realised something was wrong with this scene. Something other than the obvious witchcraft that was on display. And then it occurred to him. There weren’t enough bodies. One of the Darque family was missing. Which one was it?

  “Hello, Claude,” said a soft, lilting voice from behind him.

  Claude turned to see the daughter, Yasmin standing in the doorway just behind him. She was naked and covered from head to toe in glistening crimson blood that plastered her hair to her scalp and neck.

  “Wha… What’s going on?”

  Yasmin smiled and raised her hand. Claude found himself rising from the floor, and then he couldn’t breathe. He clutched at his neck, trying in vain to pull off whatever it was that was choking him, but there was nothing there.

  His eyes bulging, he looked down at Yasmin and saw the slightly mad look she had in her eyes. With a flick of her wrist, Claude felt his head whip around far too far. There was pain. Intense, horrific pain, and then nothing.

  New Life

  1158 AD

  Amanda screamed. She’d never felt anything like this before. The idea that women had been doing this for millennia was incredible, and yet, they had, and now it was her turn.

  Jacob squeezed her hand. “Are you sure I should be in here? I’m sure I can get someone from the town to come and help,” he said.

  As the contraction faded, Amanda smiled and took a breath. “To be sure, I want you here. You’re her father. You need to be at the birth.”

  “But, it’s not the done thing.”

  “Like I give a shite what the ‘done thing’ is?”

  Jacob shook his head. “It could be a boy, you know. You might be wrong.”

  Amanda smiled. She knew exactly what it was. Jacob knew little about her Magic, and if she had her way, it would stay that way.

  “I might be,” she conceded, smiling up at him. She’d ended up moving on from Eric Paget’s house and settling here, just outside of Paris, close to the village of Versailles so she could be close to the Legacy. She liked it here. She’d fixed up a run-down house just outside of the village and met Jacob not long after that and enjoyed his company. He was a Riven, and there didn’t seem to be any Magi in the area either. It was perfect. It wasn’t long before they were married, and then the inevitable happened and Amanda fell pregnant.

  It all felt right to her, and with the recent events with Yasmin and the Legacy, having some normality was just what she needed.

  She didn’t want to get too involved in medieval society though, and liked to keep things at arm’s length as much as possible and live a private life. She was used to the strange customs and social conventions by now, but didn’t subscribe to a lot of them. One of the things that attracted her to Jacob was that he was much more liberal and progressive than most of the men she’d met, and coming from a modern world of women’s liberation and feminism, much of the social norms of the world at the moment were not favourable to her mindset.

  Typically, men were not allowed in the birthing chamber—it was a women-only domain—but Amanda had been insistent. She wanted Jacob with her and no one else and she’d convinced him they would be fine.

  As much as she tried to live her life with Jacob without the use of Magic, preferring to keep it hidden and only practice it in seclusion, there were times when it was just easier to pull on those threads of Essentia and save herself some trouble later.

  Convincing Jacob though, did not require her to use her Magic. He was already used to her strange ways and had come to accept it.

  Getting pregnant was not something she’d really expected or thought of, but when she realised that she was with child, it felt right. It felt like now was a good time for it to happen.

  She could feel the next contraction building up already, and the pain that came with it. She could neutralise it, make the pain go away, but she wanted to experience it, she wanted to do it right. Even so, she kept an eye on things using her Magical sight, making sure the baby was safe and everything was progressing as it should. Childbirth was a messy affair and even in just the few years she’d been living here, she was aware of several women who had died giving birth in the local village.

  She had no intentions of anything like that happening, though.

  As the pain built, all rational thought faded from her mind to be replaced with pure, unadulterated agony.

  ***

  “You were right,” Jacob said. “As usual.”

  Amanda smiled as she cleaned herself up. She’d let Jacob hold the baby while she dealt with the afterbirth with a little Magic. He’d not noticed though, as he’d been too captivated by the gurgling of their baby daughter. After a moment, she turned and sat on the edge of the bed. She ached. Magic dulled the pain, but she hadn’t removed it entirely.

  “Are you ready to go back to mummy, little one?” Jacob asked.

  Cleaning herself had only taken a few minutes, but already she was missing her beautiful baby girl. Holding her arms out, Jacob passed her over. Admiring the little girl in her arms and the wisps of dark hair on her head, Amanda cooed at her. Moments later, the baby smelled the milk she carried in her breasts and sitting back, she let the baby latch on.

  Jacob looked on, his eyes full of love. He was a proud daddy, and Amanda felt utterly content.

  “We need a name for her,” Jacob said.

  “You’re right, we do,” Amanda answered. “Any ideas?”

  “I do have one, actually.”

  “Okay, go on, don’t keep me waiting.”

  “Maya.”

  Amanda stiffened. Looking up at her husband, Amanda knew this couldn’t be a coincidence. “Maya?”

  “It’s a family name, and I think it suits her,” he explained.

  Amanda looked down at her daughter, and all of the sudden realized she recognised her. Not only as her baby but also as the Vampire who had been a part of the Legacy Coven back in the modern-day. She wanted to swear but now wasn’t the time. It made so much sense now though, as she looked at her. Of course, it was Maya.

  “Do you like it?” Jacob asked.

  “You know what? I do, actually” Amanda replied. “Maya, it is then.”

  “Maya Van Gouda,” Jacob said, adding on his Dutch surname.

  Amanda smiled as another realisation struck her. Maya’s full name, back in the modern-day was Maya Van Guard, clearly a bastardisation of her actual surname. Some of Maya’s last words came to her then, as she thought back to her friend. Maya had been instrumental in contacting the
councillors who had saved her from the Magi Legion, and when Amanda had thanked her and asked what she could do in return, Maya had merely asked her to remember her name and use it wisely.

  At the time, it had made no sense, but now? Now, it did.

  “Hello, Maya,” Amanda said, smiling down at her baby daughter. As thrilled and as happy as she was, a sadness fell over her. She didn’t want anything bad to happen to Maya, as no good parent ever did, but Amanda knew that Maya did have violence in her future, and there really was no escaping it.

  One day, a Scion would transform Maya into a Vampire. Amanda hated the idea, but it was probably inevitable.

  But as she looked down at that innocent child, Amanda vowed that she would give her the best upbringing she possibly could. She wanted Maya to enjoy her time as a human as much as possible.

  1181 AD – France

  Standing behind her house, Amanda called on the flow of Essentia around her. She reached out using her Spirit Magic, and pushed it into the Null Realm—the barrier between the Material World and the Aetheric. She proceeded carefully, reaching out gently, so as not to push through into the Abyss beyond.

  She worked her will again, creating a space, a pocket of reality and extended it, pushing it out, making it grow, and eventually giving it shape.

  Soon enough, this new space, this Null Realm, solidified, becoming stable. Amanda smiled as she slowly withdrew her power, half expecting the new Null Realm to fade away, but it didn’t. It remained. It was permanent and it was hers.

  She opened her eyes. She was still standing at the back of her house, surrounded by trees and bushes. Amanda imposed her will on the Essentia around her once more and stepped forward, vanishing from the Material Realm.

  The Legacy

  1177 AD

  “There, that’s the last one,” Amanda said, shutting the small door behind the final hen as it climbed into the hen house. “Well done,” Amanda said.